Today’s entry is a poem “Never Lose Your Accreditation for Imposition” I became inspired to write during my
church’s 4th Annual Night of Poetry.
Initially I came to the event empty handed, but after
hearing so many inspirational pieces, I decided to break out my pen during the
event and write a poem myself.
I begin to reflect on recent thoughts on the status of my
spirituality: growing up in the church, going off to college and falling off
into worldly activities, and now reaching a point where I realize my life isn’t
pleasant when God isn’t in the center. “Never
Lose Your Accreditation for Imposition” expresses this reflection clearly.
Accreditation means to PROVIDE or SEND with credentials;
designate officially. This is God.
Imposition means something IMPOSED as a BURDEN or DUTY. This
is Satan.
Imposition also means the opposite of position, just as the opposite
of improper means proper.
When you’re not in the position God wants you to be, you’re
also not in the position to receive the directions and/or the officially,
designated blessings he has for you. God’s plan is ALWAYS greater than ours,
and especially greater than Satan’s.
Never
Lose Your Accreditation
for
Imposition
I’m caught up in a
few situations
Being mislead by a
number of temptations
I’m trying to hold on
to those great expectations
So I’m looking for
some sort of divine revelation
Because I’m in need
of some healing and restoration
I did some personal
mediation
And I came to the
realization
It’s time for some
self-check evaluation
If I’m going to reach
this spiritual elevation
I read about during
weekly Bible education
I lost a little
motivation
But now I’m full of
dedication
Aiming to unveil this
manifestation
With goals of
receiving salvation
A few months ago, my
mode resembled aviation
I was moving fast and
spinning in heavy rotation
Involved in some
unequally yoked integration
And to think, I just
made an adaption
To avoid explanation
and just blend in, that’s called dissimulation
But again during my
personal meditation
I had some medulla
oblongata stimulation
And as I think about
it Heaven is the only eternal place that offers you an invitation
Yet its people dying
literally for Hell initiation
But understand that I
no longer accept these limitations
Bound in fear and
living in frustration
Now looking back,
Satan is the center of the causation
Sadly, our generation
is slowly becoming victim of secular cultivation
Physically full, but
emotionally there’s no satisfaction
Mentally unstable,
and spiritually experiencing starvation
But through God’s
glorification
We can experience
supplication
But with divination
by way of Satan
We fall as executors
of inconsideration, For God
And we walk in advocation
for everything else, with God being the exception
But in reality, we
have an imperception
Because what we are
perceiving is Satan in deception
He too can appear as
sophistication
Cause the Devil wears
Prada and every clothing expression you can mention
But its time out for
detention
There’s no more
recession
Class is in session
We might not can
reach perfection
But through faith in
our unseen God we have redemption
And through Satan, we
only get eternal condemnation
Today’s post will focus on the Holy Trinity. The Holy
Trinity states that the Father (God), the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit all
exist as 3-in-1. Tri- is a prefix meaning 3 and unity means to combine all parts
into one—three Holy parts working to accomplish one mission.
I’ve
learned many Christians are confused as to how God can exist in three different
forms and where in the Bible are there scriptures that explain how the roles interlink
with one another.
As a result, I would like to summarize some of the lessons we
can learn in reading John 14, what the concept of the Holy Trinity is all about
and ultimately why the Holy Spirit is important to the faith of any believer of
God.
John 14 Summary and Lessons
In verses 1-4, Jesus provides words of comfort to his 12 disciples
before his crucifixion. He tells them not to have troubled hearts because he is
preparing a place for them. Since they have followed him the last few years and
heard his teachings and witnessed his miracles, they have learned THE WAY. But
in confusion, Thomas, one of his disciples, asks how can they know THE WAY when
they don’t even know WHERE Jesus is going (verse 5).
Jesus responds in verses 6 and 7, “I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really
know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have
seen him.” Still in confusion, Phillip, another disciple says in verse 8 “Lord,
show us the Father and that will be enough for us”.
Jesus asks Phillip and the other disciples do they not
believe after seeing Jesus all this time that they haven’t saw God as well (verse
9). Is God not living within him (verse 10)? Was the evidence of the works
Jesus performed not enough to say Jesus was God’s presence in human form (verse
11). From here, he promises the presence of the Holy Spirit to all those who in
walk in obedience and show they love God by following his commandments (verses
15-21).
Lastly, Jesus tells what to include in each of our prayers
(verse 13) and he informs us Satan, referred to as the prince of this world, is
coming to gain power of the world, to discredit that Jesus is faithful to God and
to discourage believers. However, he will not be victorious over Jesus because
Jesus does what God tells him (verses 29-31) and so should we if we are
believers and lovers of God as well.
The Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit
Does the Holy Trinity mean God is really three entirely
different Gods? No, he’s one God that exists in three forms! But how?
God exists as a divine
and holy/or sacred being. His nature is so divine and royal that his
presence overwhelms us like no other. In fact, scripture tells us in Exodus 33:12-21
(specifically v. 21) that his face is so bright with glory and holiness that if
we saw Him with our bare eyes we would die. Looking at God would be like standing
face to face with the sun because of the level of power and holiness God has.
Jesus came to Earth
as the human representation of what God would look like and act like if we
could actually recognize without dying because at this point, sinning has
unfortunately become a huge part of the human existence.
Adam and Eve were the world’s first sinners after they ate
from the tree of good and evil (Genesis 3:6-7) after God told already warned
them would surely die (Genesis 1:17). Originally
God never planned for humans to die so now he had to create a plan that would
give people a second chance at receiving eternal life again because Romans
6:23 tell us “For the wages (price) of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
Before Jesus died on the cross, God accepted animal sacrifices
made daily from people and requests made by the high priest on the Day of
Atonement done once a year. Sacrificing, or killing an animal and laying it on
the altar, was a way of saying to God “Hey God, I have sinned and I want
forgiveness. To show I’m serious, I give this animal (that I could have ate or
sold to someone else for money) to you instead. Please accept my offering and
forgive me of my sins. And I will do better here on out.”
But later we learn that God knew the blood of animals could no
longer permanently wash away the sins of the people. So he sent Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice for all people who have ever
sinned. Jesus’ blood was perfect because he had never sinned and therefore
he was pure and pleasing to God because he was God in the human form, thus
explaining why virgin Mary was not impregnated by Joseph because God was his
father.
As
for the Holy Spirit, that’s what we’ll discuss today. The Holy Spirit is the unseen presence of God we feel here on Earth that
stems from God and Jesus who now rest in heaven.
That’s why scripture tells “Faith is the substance of things
hoped for and the evidence of things not seen”—Hebrew 11:1 . The Holy Spirit is
promised to everyone who believes Jesus died for our sins and hopes/has faith in
God and his power to change their situations even though they’ve never seen God.
The Holy Spirit (also called God’s spirit and represented
any time you see the Dove bird, symbolizing purity and water such as baptism) is
mentioned way before you get to John 14 in the Bible, but it’s not until John
14 that Jesus explains how the roles all intertwine and why the Holy Spirit is
important to any believer.
Later in John 16:5-8 KJV, Jesus tells us why he must go back
to heaven. For one Jesus couldn’t physically (in his human form) be present
everywhere in the world at the same time, but the Holy Spirit of God can.
5 But now I go away to Him who sent me, and none
of you asks Me, “Where are you going?” 6 But because I have said
these things to you you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7
Nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if
I do not go away; the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send
Him to you. 8 And when he has come, he will convict the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
The Significance of the Holy Spirit
Let’s first take a look at John 14:15-21, New International
Version and then I’ll explain the significance in case you still can’t figure
it out!
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16
And I will ask the Father and he will give you another advocate to help you and
be with you forever—17 the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept
him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives
with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will
come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but
you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day
you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am you. 21
Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one loves me. The one who loves
me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to
them.”
Explanation (the
bolded words tell you the main points cause ya’ll know I like to explain stuff
lol)
15 simply put, obedience is so important to God. Obedience shows our love for Him,
how thankful we are and how serious we are about going to heaven. It’s
important we strive to follow all, and not just some of his commandments.
16
an advocate is a noun that means “a
person who pleads for the cause of another in a court of law”. Jesus must
go back to Heaven, but the Spirit of Truth, something I’ve talked about in the
last two blogs, will guide us forever. When
we seek the Spirit of Truth through reading our Bible and through praying
to God, we will have a permanent
advocate that defends for our sins that we should be punished for (but won’t)
during the ultimate day of judgment.
17 John 18:32 Jesus tells Pilate, the Roman
governor who had the last say so in having him killed “My kingdom is not of
this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight,
that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from
hence.” From here and John 14:17, God shows us he doesn’t appreciate people who
focus on things in the world more than they do God. When you spend time with God and search after the Holy Spirit, you will
know him because the Spirit walks with you and in you. When you spend time things
in the world, then you won’t recognize the presence of God’s Spirit. And without the presence of the Holy
Spirit, you invite the Devil’s Spirit to come on in and eat at your spirit.
18-19 As modern believers, we have never seen the
face of Jesus but regardless of this fact, he promises that if we seek after
his presence, he won’t leave us fatherless. God is our heavenly father and the
Spirit (which is God’s unseen presence) will be our company here on Earth. One day, all will live to see Jesus on the Day
of Judgment, but those who are of the world will not live because they will be
sent to hell.
20 For those who get to live and stay in Heaven
will finally be able to see the face of God and realize that Jesus deeply
reflects God in both image and works.
21 This verse restates verse 15 so again we see
how important obedience is to God. Those who obey will get to see Jesus’ face
and live forever as mentioned in verse 19
1. Seek God’s presence through prayer and reading the Bible and
you will receive it.
2. John 14:13 tells us when we pray to say “In Jesus name we
pray” so that God will always be glorified for sending us a Savior.
3. Show you
love God by staying focused on him and following his commands. Remember the
Holy Spirit will help guide you to understand the Bible (John 14:26), give you peace
and not fear, and most of it all it will offer great things no one or anything in the world can offer you
(verse 27).
Checkout this blog in a video version here on YouTube!
“When you look for trouble, you find trouble” is a popular
saying most have heard! Most people don’t go looking for trouble or problems,
but when we look at our lives, sometimes our own behaviors create the very own
issues we’re dealing with.
Police look for trouble and they always find it!
As we develop and desire to mature in our spiritual
relationship with God, we must make it a priority to obey God’s word and not
participate in things that God would disapprove and that would only add more
problems to our life. The only way to know what pleases God and what displeases
him is to seek truth found in the word, or the Holy Bible. Just as when we look
for trouble, when we look for God’s truth, we will surely find it.
Today, Word World War will continue examining John, chapter 8
and introduce a series of questions that come along when seeking truth. How we
answer these questions will guide us in establishing the relationship we want with
God.
In all, I will provide three things:
1.summary of chapter 8 because it has 59 verses total
so I can’t go in and explain everything
2.10 questions we need to consider answering when
we read chapter 8
3.a word search puzzle that contains 25 words for
you to find and then define what they mean to you and your relationship with
Christ.
Click here to the read the New International Version (a very
easy to read and understand version) of John, chapter 8 for yourself or read
the summary below.
Jesus is at the Mount of Olives, his place away from the
city to spend time with God (verse 1). The Pharisees (the group later
responsible for hanging him on the cross) approach and ask him how they should punish
a woman who had been caught in the act cheating on her husband—stone her to
death or let her go as they imagine a “Lord and Savior” would do (verse 3-6).
He told the Pharisees if any one of them had never sinned
then they could throw the first stone to stone her to death (verse 7). Of
course, no one could say they had never sinned so the men quickly vanished and
Jesus told the woman he would not stone her but that she must leave this
lifestyle of cheating (verse 11).
Later Jesus tells the Pharisees he is the light of the world
and whoever follows him will have eternal life (verse 12). But they reject him
and his testimony because by law it requires one other witness besides the
person making the claim (verse 13) and so Jesus says that God is his witness
(verse 18) and anyone that refuses Jesus and his father will die in their sin
(verse 24).
Lastly, Jesus speaks with the
descendents of Abraham who are the chosen people/children of God who also
reject Jesus and his testimony of being God in the flesh (verse 41). Abraham’s
descendents who claim to be children of God desire to kill Jesus and so, Jesus
tells him they are acting as children of Satan (verse 43-45). In all Jesus
tells the people he is not looking to be praised for being a Savior (verse 50),
that’s not his purpose. His purpose is to save!
Ten Questions
As I read John, chapter 8 and saw how Jesus was focused on
spreading the true gospel, I wrote down ten questions to help me model my
actions after Jesus and build my relationship with Christ.
1.(John 8:6) They were using this question (how to punish the woman) as a trap, in
order to have a basis for accusing him.
a.Has
someone ever challenged your faith in God?
b.How do you handle people that make false
accusations against you? Are you using a Godly approach?
c.Know that Satan in Hebrew means accuser. He is
also the father of lies (John 8:44)
2.(John 8:12) “When Jesus spoke again to the
people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never
walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
a.Are you walking the path Christians are to walk?
b.Have you ever tried looking for something in the
dark? Did you find it? Did you bump into something or hit your toe? Did you
have to turn on the light eventually after you couldn’t find it?
c.When in sin you will bump into something all the
time, but turn the light on and turn to God.
3.(John 8:14) Jesus answered, “Even if I testify
on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where
I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going”.
a.If you died today, where would your final
destination be?
b.Have you mapped out the directions you need to
take in life to reach this destination?
4.(John 8:18) “I am one who testifies for myself;
my other witness is the Father, who sent me?”
a.Have you testified to someone lately about the
goodness of Jesus and how to receive salvation?
b.The words you speak every day, would God approve
them and be a witness to your words?
5.(John 8:24) “I told you that you would die in
your sins; If you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your
sins”.
a.Are there some sins you commit every day?
b.What are you doing to turn from sin and be
obedient to God?
c.Did you know they are different parts of hell
according to the different sins committed? For example, a person that lies
habitually will constantly have their tongue ripped out when in hell.
This
video explains that different levels exist.
6.(John 8:29) “The one who sent me is with me; he
has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him”.
a.Who are you working to please: God or Satan?
b.Are you always and not sometimes working to
please God in all you do?
c.You cannot serve two masters. Cross reference
with Matthew 6:24 and Romans 6:16.
7.(John 8:43-44) “Why is my language not clear to
you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father,
the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer
from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.
When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of
lies.”
a.Are you hearing God’s language? Or is the
Satan’s language louder?
b.What language are you speaking? The word of God
or words from the world?
8.(John 8:45) “Yet because I tell the truth, you
do not believe me”.
a.Why does our society reject the truth and people
doing positive things?
b.Do we reject truth because it’s hard to admit
we’re wrong, and someone else was right?
c.Are you willing to change/give up your life and
your interests to adopt the interests of God?
9.(John 8:50) “I am not seeking glory for myself;
but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.”
a.When you witness, is it for God to receive the
glory or for others to see you as holier than thou person?
b.If Jesus tells us that even he can’t judge
people, how can we judge people? God is the only judge
10.(John 8:58-59) “Very truly I tell you”, Jesus
answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to
stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.”
a.People say truth hurts, but does it really?
b.Does truth only hurt when you reject it?
c.Are you going to hurt people who reject the
truth of Jesus Christ?
Word Search Puzzle
Click here to complete the wordsearch puzzle that contains 25 words.
Find the words and then define what these words mean to you personally. Don’t
look up the definitions. On your own, decide what they mean to you and allow it to help you evaluate
how you view your relationship with Christ right now, and where you want it to
be this day forward.
Goals for this week
1.Read John, chapter 8 in its entirety
2.Answer these ten questions and map out your spiritual
journey
3.Complete the crossword puzzle and define what
these words me to you and your Christianity
Rather not Read the Print Version? Click Here to Watch This Blog in video on YouTube!
It contains a good explanation, music, and more pictures!
"Ignorance
is bliss" is the worst quote EVER! This popular quote is an expression that means “not knowing is better than knowing and
worrying”according
to the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
However, our Bible tells us in John 8:32 "the truth will set you free”. Therefore
ignorance (or the idea of not having true facts) is less bliss and more
bondage.
To
help you understand this concept, I will prove this “worldly” saying wrong by
discussing three points of interest using biblical scriptures.
1.how
ignorance and “the Truth” relate to each other
2.why
the definition of bliss contradicts the quote
3.what popular
culture has to say about ignorance
I. how ignorance and “the
Truth” relate to each other
Ignorance
or to be ignorant means to be without education or knowledge or to be unaware.
Truth means reality or actuality.
Truth
and ignorance relate to each other because:
1) they are antonyms and
2) if a
person is searching for truth this means they’re searching for actual
facts.
If they find false facts, then they’re lacking knowledge and
are ignorant/don’t know/or are unaware of the truth.
The
word “truth” is used 224 times in the
King James Version, 228 times in the New International Version, and 269 times
in the New Living Translation.
“Truth”
is a sovereign word and Jesus himself confirms this in John 14:6-7 NIV,
"Jesus said to him, I am the
true and living way: no one comes to the Father but BY me 7 If you REALLY
KNOW ME, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and
have seen him”.
In
this scripture, Jesus tells us the only way to live a good life is to seek
after the truth, which in Christianity means to believe and accept that Jesus died
on the cross for our sins.
Verse
7 tells us that getting intimate with the teachings of Jesus “If you really know me”, is the only for
sure and true way we can come and meet God one day in Heaven.
The key word in
this verse is “know”. Remember ignorance means you’re unaware and don’t know
the truth. So this quote is inappropriate for Christians to use because we know
Jesus and we know he is the Son of God.
II. why the definition of bliss contradicts this quote
Bliss
is a noun and has four definitions:
supreme
happiness; utter contentment|(theology) the joy of
heaven|
heaven;
paradise|(archaic) a cause of great joy or happiness
As a member
of the debate team at MTSU, I know definitions are important so that it’s clear
what we’re debating and what we’re not debating.
I’ve also
learned that using the Bible as a source for definitions or as one of your
reasons to prove your case is frowned upon because not everyone believes in
Christianity.However, I think it’s
important to point out that 2 of out of 4 of the definitions for bliss mentions
heaven.
To
see if these definitions are suitable, let’s replace bliss with its different
definitions to see if it makes sense.
1.“Ignorance
is bliss supreme happiness or utter
contentment”.
2.“Ignorance
is bliss the joy of heaven”.
3.“Ignorance
is bliss heaven or paradise”.
4.“Ignorance
is bliss a cause of great joy or
happiness”.
How
can we be extremely happy, content (confident) or have great joy about something
we have no knowledge about? How can our ignorance be the joy of heaven? A
person ignorant of God’s word wouldn’t make it to heaven in the first place,
let alone be a joy in it.
2
Timothy 2:15 KJV says "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of TRUTH". Are you an AWANA?
The Tyndale Life
Application Study Bible, New International Version tells us this verse means
"Because God will examine what kind of workers we have been for him, we
should build our lives on his Wordand
build his Word into our lives—it alone tells us how to live for him
and serve him. Believers who ignore
the Bible will certainly be ashamed at the judgment. Consistent and
diligent study of God's Word is vital otherwise we will be lulled into
neglecting God and our true purpose for living”.
A
person who ignores the Bible is ignorant of the truth and will be
ashamed; therefore “Ignorance is bliss” is invalid and inappropriate for
Christians to say because an ashamed person is an unhappy person. People of the world work to impress man. People of the Word work to get approved by God!
III. what popular culture
has to say about ignorance
From
a “worldy” point of view, the word “truth”
when examined within our society is sovereign (important or powerful) as well
because we place great emphasizes on having:
1.“loyal and ride-or-die”
people on
our teams and within our circle of friends
2.people
that will “keep it real” or “keep it 100” with us at all times
3.exposing
people who are “not about that life”
No
one wants to be lied to, betrayed or deceived. We surround ourselves with
people that will tell us the truth and treat us the way we want to be
treated. We expect news reports, people of high power and Christians to
speak truthful words. Even in school, we’re warned about plagiarism, which is
writing an essay and not truthfully reporting where you found your information.
In
our personal lives, if we do just so happen to withhold the truth from someone,
we justify it by saying “what they don’t know won’t hurt/kill them”, “it’s only a little lie” or “IGNORANCE IS BLISS”. But sometimes what you don't can and will kill if you allow it to.
Ignorance is bondage and death, NOT bliss
But 1 Chronicles 6:49 tells us we can’t just tell little white
lies or only follow part of God’s commandments we think apply or don’t apply to
us.
“But Aaron and his descendants were the ones who presented
offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense in
connection with all that was done in the Most Holy Place, making atonement for
Israel, in accordance WITH ALL that Moses THE
SERVANT of GOD HAD COMMANDED”.
Summary Aside from you already
knowing it’s unacceptable to be ignorant, I hope that today I’ve encouraged you
to get the wheels in your head turning to remove phrases like “Ignorance is bliss” from your vocabulary. Whether “worldly”
or biblically stated, it’s simply impossible and grammatically incorrect to say
you’re ignorant and blissful at the same time.
How
can we be happy or joyous while burning in hell because we refused God’s word? You’re
not in hell now, but could your current unhappiness or the feeling that your
life is in hell be an end result of you not reading your Bible to receive your
promises? Don’t be ignorant of God's already written Word. Throughout the whole
Bible, it’s confirmed that God wins in the end.
We
fear things we don’t know, but God has not given us the spirit of fear.
Therefore, it’s important we break our minds away from bondage (quotes or
beliefs similar to this, worldly behaviors, and anything we spend more time
with and doing than we do praying to God, reading his word and ministering to
others).
These distractions affect how we think, how we act, and even how we
don’t act. Just as the quote “If you can believe, you can achieve” encourages
us to think positive about success in order to accomplish it, we must do the
same towards removing things from our thinking that discourage us so we can
place ourselves in positions that allow us to reach our ultimate spiritual
high!
Goals for this week
1. Learn
one new scripture and study that chapter to see why that one verse is important
2. Look
up a few quotes that encourage positive thinking and then create your own to
live by
3. Think
of any sayings you say regularly that may discourage you or others and STOP IT
4. Read
up on John ch. 8 and 14 for next week’s blog “Look for Truth and You Will Find Truth”
Be
Blessed and #StayPrayedUpPeople. And Remember
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